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27 Points
Joined October 2011
Systematic risk is due to risk factors that affect the entire market such as investment policy changes, foreign investment policy, change in taxation clauses, shift in socio-economic parameters, global security threats and measures etc.
Unsystematic risk is due to factors specific to an industry or a company like labor unions, product category, research and development, pricing, marketing strategy etc.
Systematic risk is beyond the control of investors and cannot be mitigated to a large extent. In contrast to this, the unsystematic risk can be mitigated through portfolio diversification. It is a risk that can be avoided and the market does not compensate for taking such risks.
However the systematic risks are unavoidable and the market does compensate for taking exposure to such risks.
This logic forms the base for the capital asset pricing model. The greater is the systematic risk, the greater is the return expected out of the asset. The relationship between the expected returns and systematic risk is what the CAPM (Capital Asset Pricing Model) explains.